Bloom: ‘Lucy’ is preposterous, but she’s still super

“Lucy” is a far-fetched and silly crime thriller with science fiction overtones that, nonetheless, keeps you enthralled for its entire running time of 90 minutes.

The movie serves as a showcase for Scarlett Johansson, who goes from playing a bewildered and frightened young woman thrust into a situation in which she is totally ignorant to an almost superhuman being who can control people and the environment around her.

Lucy’s boyfriend coerces her to deliver a briefcase to a rather sinister-looking man in a hotel lobby. But things go awry. Lucy is beaten, knocked unconscious and finds that she has drugs in her intestines that she is to deliver overseas if she wants to live.

One of the crime boss’s not-so-bright lackeys beats and kicks Lucy while she is held prisoner, rupturing the package with the drugs, which begin spreading throughout her body.

The drug, CHP4, is supposedly what pregnant women secrete during the sixth week of pregnancy to help a fetus begin to grow and form its bones.

The massive amount that spills into Lucy’s system creates a startling metamorphosis, slowly altering her; her brainpower begins to spike from the human norm of 10 percent.

The rest of the plot involves a trip to Paris, the recovery of three other packets of the drug, a meeting with a noted scientist, played with sincere gravitas by Morgan Freeman and, of course, Lucy’s continued evolution to some sort of super being.

Somehow writer-director Luc Besson weaves his story in such a manner that it speeds by at such a pace that you have no time to either catch your breath or realize how preposterous all this is.

Ironically, considering its subtext, “Lucy” is a lot of mindless fun. Besson persuades his audience to take so many leaps of faith that you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

“Lucy” is like a cinematic pulp-magazine story; you read it, enjoy it, then move on to something else.

Johansson is the whole movie. She is a charismatic performer. She transforms from helpless and hapless to superwoman, while retaining her basic decency and humanity.

“Lucy” is her movie from start to finish.

The real question is, what is Besson’s point? What is the message he is trying to convey to us?

Honestly, who cares. See “Lucy” simply to watch Johansson kick butt, spout some philosophy and, with the help of CGI, move through time and space with the casual swipe of her palm.

Bloom is the movie critic and Blu-ray/DVD reviewer for the Journal & Courier. He also reviews Blu-rays and DVDs for Gannett. He can be reached by email at bbloom@jconline.com. Or follow Bloom on Twitter @bobbloomjc.